Carbonization process



Jul 12,' 1932.

F. W. SPERR, JR-

CARBONIZATION PROCESS Filed May 24; 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 I I NVENTOR I f'rea'erck Mpe/nk BY AIR I ///////////I I// ATTORN July 12, 1932. F. w. SPERRLJR 36 3 I cABo zATIoN PRO-CESS Filed May 24, "1927 2 Sheets-Sheet -2 INVENTOR. &ever/ak %guerra/I Patented July 12, 1932 UNITED sTATEs 'PTENT oFFcai FBEDERICK W. SIPER, JE., OF PITTSBURGE, PENNSYLVNIA, ASSIGNOB '1'0 THE KOP-` ?EES COMPA JY, A COBPOBAIION OF v 'momzaron PBOCESS f f Application mea ma 24, 1927. Serial Io. 193324.

My invention relate to the carbonizationv or distillation of bituminous material, such as coal.

An object of my invention is to provide an i economical method of supplying the .heat

necessary to effect carbonization.

. Another object of my invention is to avoid wasteful combustion of volatile products evolved from bituminous material during' carbonization thereof.

A further object of my invention is to provde a'method of Operating a fuel bed, such as may exist in a furnace, gas-making appa- 'atus, carbonization chamber, or the like, in

., such wa as to eflectively carbonize bituminous fue added thereto at the expense of combustion of solid products of carbonization rather than relatively more valuable volatile products'. u

A further object of my invention is to provide a method of operatin a fuel bed in apparatus of the character mdicated, in such k manner as to permit the carbonization of bituminous materialin excess of that consumed in gasification in the hitherto normal operation of such apparatus.

My invention has for further objects such other new and useful imprqvements in operative advantages or results as may hereinafter be found to be obtained.

Prior methods of fcarbonizing coal have depended principally on eflectng the carbonization of raw coal added to the' system by meanscf the'heat of combustion or the sensible heat, or both, of gases.- In the instance of a gas producer (in which, inciufacture) combustio is only partia y com-- dentally, the carbonized fuel is subsequently wholly consumed for the purpose of as manpleted, (CO rather than CO being produced) and it takes place within the fuel beds On the other hand, in a carbonizatioi retort chamber such as a coke oven, complete combuston of a portionof the gases' of' distillation or other s is efiected out of contact with the material eingcarbonized, i. e., in the flu'e structure whiehls integral with and serves to heat the oven walla Inmy invention, I accomplish the c`arso boization of .co b means of the sensible A condition which I have found to be of great importance is that the coal should be brought into intimate positive contact wth the hot coke. I accomplish this in any of a number of ways, as hereinafter described. A further condition .which I' have found to exert an influence on thecharacter of the carbonized roduct is that the coal particles should be su ject to pressure during carbonization. This ressure need not be excessive; the pressure of'an overlying fuel bed'of ordlnary depth issuflicient to cause an effective agglomeration of the carbonizing particles into aproduct of relatively suflicient densit and coherent strength to be of value as a fue i My invention consists'in the novel application of known principles and natural laws,

and it producesnew and useful results. its application is not limited to a particular form of apparatus, but it may be variously embodied or practiced, in gas generators, fuel beds, retorts and the like.. In order that the manner of its application may be clearly set forth andmnderstod, L now describe' various methods by which it may be advantageou sly accomplished.

. e simplest method of accomplishing my invention consists f in applyin`g thin strata` or layers of-coal to'a stratumof incandescent co e. 'In a water-gas machine, 'for examle,` to

such an incandescent zone may be cause exist in the upper portions of 'the bed of coke in the generator,`by blowing air-downwardly 'through 'the bed unt-il the desired-tem rature isreached. By means of a suitable c arging device, coal (preferably &lied and preheated) is then introduced in such amount as to form a layer of a few inches depth overlying the ineandescent zone. This layer is referably levelled off quickly to insure uni`- orm conditions, and the coal is carbonized under the influence'of the sensible heat of the adjacent coke. A' portion of the coke thus produced, as well as some of 'the orig inal coke in the bed, is then burned, refer-- In the accom an n gdfawings which show a referred em hod i ment of my invention, gure 1 s a vertical sectonal vew of a gas generator that is provided with means for introducing carbonaceous material there to and means 'for regenerating sensible heat therefrom, parts being shown in elevation;

`Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of alternate means for introducing carboiaceous ma teral into the generator shown in- Fig. 1; an

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of means for removingcarbonaceous material from the` generator. i

Similar characters of reference designate similar parts in eachof the views of the drawings. e Referring to the drawings and 'more'particularly Fig. 1, a gas generator' is constituted ofa vertical cylindrical chamber 1, enclosed by a metal shell 2 and a refractory linin 3. Carbonaceous 'material forming a fuel %ed 4 within the generator 1 .is supported upon grates 5. For introducing carbonaceous material irto the fuel bed 4 within the generator 1, I provide a vertical pass ge 6, which comprises the interier of a cylin rical pipe 7 that may be provided with heat-insulating means 8 and a refractorycasing 9. Thepassage 6 is coaxially disposed with respect to the genertor chamb'er 1 and extends vertically above the grates 5 tothe lower edge of the normal incandescent zone of the fuel bed 4.

g Alternate means of 'forcing carbonaceous material, such as pulverized coal, through the passage 6 into the fuel bed 4 are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In the formen, the cylindrical pipe 7 extends downward through the base of the generator and is provided at its lower extremty with aram or piston 11, which ma.-

be actuated to move up &pd down by means of a connecting rod 12 and a hydraulic cylinder 13 that is provided with water inletand outlet ports 14 and 15. In the figure, the pis-` s through the passage 6 ton 11 is represented at its lowermost point of travel. v v

An upwardly inclined passage 16 that is constituted by the cylindrical pipe 17, communicates with the passage 6 and pipe 7 at a point slightly a ove the lowermost posi- -tion of the piston 1 The passage 16 is provided with a ram or piston 18 that is actuated by a .hydraulic cylinder 19 that is provided with water inlet and outlet ports 20 and 21. The passage 16 further communicates with a hopper 22 through an opening 24. In the figure, the piston 18 is shown at its lowermost point of travel. In such position, the passageway 24 is unrestricted. When the piston 18 is moved into its uppermost position, it

seals ofl' the passageway 24, preventing in The operation of introducing coal or the like through the passage 6 into the fuel bed 4 is preferably conducted as follows: Both pistons 18 and 11 bein in the lowermost position, coal supplied tot e hop er 22 flows into and' fills up passage 16. he piston 18 is then moved upward, forcing this coal into the lower portion of the passage 6. With the iston 18 in its uppermost position, which is ust short'of the intersection of cylinders 7 and 17, the iston 11 is moved upward through its fu l travel, forcing coal upward andinterrupting communication between passages 6 and 16. With `the piston 1-1 in its uppermostposition, the

piston 18-is withdrawn and passage 16 is a ain filled with coal from the hoppe` 22. e piston 11 may then be lowered and the 'ccle commenced once more, coal being thrust t rough the pass'ages 16 and 6, and into the fuel bed 4 without'permitting at any time assage of gas in reverse direction from the uel bed 4 through passages 6 and 16 into the atmosphere.` 4

For sustaining the coal within the passage 6 when the piston-11 is withdrawn, I may provide a gate 25 that is actuated by a connecting rod 26`and a hydraulic cylinder 27 that is pro vided with water inlet and outlet ports 28 and 29. The gate 2 5may be thrust across the passage 6 to sustain the coal in the upper portions of said passage 6 and is withdrawn when further quantities of coal are introduced from below by means of the piston 11.

In an alternate form of coal-introducing mechanism, shown in Fig. 2, I provide a horizontal passage 31 commuhicatin at one extremity with the lower portion o the passage 6. The passage 31 further communicates with a hopper 32. jPassages 6 and '31 areprovided with screw-conveying mechaisms 33 and 34, respectively. The mechanisms 33 and 34 are rotated by means of prime movers (not shown) and are efiective to move coal introduced froni the hopper 32 through c passages 31` and 6 into'the generator 4.` Referring again to Fig. 1, I provide a pier 35 for resisting the thrust of the coal ntrodueed ing, of coal introduced through the passage 6, and prevents said coal from simply being forced vertically to erator bed.

I provide removable doors 36 and 37 for introducin'g supplementary amounts of carbonaceous material to the interior of the generator l, for inspection of the fuel fed 4,` and the like. The upper portion of the generator chamber l communicates with the usual carburetion apparatus (not shown) through a Conduit 38, whereas the-lower portion of the chamber that is Situated below the grates 5 communicates with such apparatus through a conduit 39. Conduits `41 and 42, provided the top of the gen- V When' the carbonization 'of raw material has been completed, air is introduced through conduit 52, passing downward through the regenerator 46 and absorbing heat from the checkerwork 48 andpasses through Conduit 42 into the generator chamber 1. The preheated air then passes downward through Conduit 39 into the carburetter and subsequent appara-tus. Steam is now introduced to the generator 1 through a conduit 54 or a conduit 55, depending on whether a downrun or an uprun is desired, and the resultant water gas is passed through the carburetter and superheater, as in usual water-gas practice.

It will be seen that the function of the re-' generator 46 is to provide a heated blast for the generator 1, as I have found such blast advantageous. By means of conduits 41 and 42, this `blast may be caused to pass either upwardly 'or downwardly through fuel bed I with valves 43 and 44, respectively, are simi- '4 and' thus the conditions of' carbonization larly provided to communicate between the chamber 1 and through a conduit 45 into the lower portion of a` regenerator 46. Such regenerator 46 is constituted of a refractory casin 47 and is provided with heat-accumulative m ans consisting of brick checkerwork 48. The upper portion of the regenerator 46 communicates through a stack va-lve 49 to a flue 50 an'dthrough a Conduit 52 to compressed air 1 sorbed 'nd accumulated wit hin the Checkersupply means. A valve 53 is provided for re latin-g the amount of air supply;

n Operating a generator according to my invention, a fuel'bed 4 is built up within' the generator and is brought to incandescence in the usual manner by means of a blast of air iutroduced through Conduit 39, which, as in the usual water-gas apparatus,communicateswith air supply means. The air passes upward through the fuel 'bed 4 and sa portion of the hot products of combustion or blast gases `s passed through conduits 42 and 45 into a. regenerator 46. Within the regenerator 46,' the sensible heat of .these blast gases is abwork 48.

The portion of the blast gases passed through the generator 46 is allowed to pass through the open stack valve 49 and fiue into the atmosphere: The remainder of the blast, gases not withdrawn through Conduit descent coke therein. The products of dis- 42 passes through the conduit 38 into the car- I buretter and superheater, as in usual watergas practice. During this period, valve 43 is closed and valve 44 is opened. Byoperating the pistons 18 and 11, carbonaceous material is now thrust'into 'the incandescent portion of thefuel bed '4 and is carboniz'ed by means of the sensible. heat of the in'cantillationare allowed to passthrough conduit 38, valve 44 being closed,'and are collcted or carburetted as desiredi and incandescence may be considerably regulated.

' Broadly considered, this method of operation is similar to that of the usual watergas operation except that there is added a period of carbonization and an extra period for resupplying the heat absorbed in carbonization .of coal, introduced. My'apparatus provides .for introducing raw carbonaceous material into the incandescent zone of the fuel bed in intimate cntact with highly heated coke-or semi-coke within 'the fuel bed and `permits the carbonization of the introduced material under conditions of intimate contact and pressure, both of which I have found to be highly desirable. It will be noticed that the raw coal introduced to the fuel bed is forced into intimate positive contact with the incandescent coke and is subject to the pressure of the overlying portions of the fuel bed. The coal so carbonized is subsequently partially burned by means of the blast gases and 'the carbonized residue is available in in candescent form for carbonization of further ter gas or producer gas, andthey may be carburetted, if desired. It will be noticed that the total gas produced by such 'method and in such apparatus is similar to the mixtures of coal gas and water gas now generally employedv for supplying' municipalities with manufactured gas, and hitherto produced in separate and distinct apparatus. In my invention, I provide a method of producing such a mixed gas both eonomical as to 'heat requirements and losses and capable of being performed in a single apparatus By providing 'suitable grate mechanism,

4 such as now' known to the art, ;I may provide the fuel bed 4,' increasing the temperature of the same-and the blast gases pass through paratus (not shown space between' the en for withdrawal of carbonized material from the fuel bed 4. With such provision,`it becomes possible to carboni'ze an excess of material wthin the generator 4over and above that re uired for the manufacture of water gas. T e method of myinvention is of such scope as to cover such carbonization, irrespective of whether it is carried on in a watergas generator or not. While any suitable means for withdrawing carbonized material from the fuel bed may be employed for this u purpose, a particularly suitable device orthis' the peripheral discharge means of this device. In this figure it will be seen tha t the device consists primarily of an agitating beam 60 which is mounted for revolution in a horizontal plane just above the grate being rotated b means of a drive ring 61 which is connected o the beam near the outer extremities of the latter. As shown, the drive ring 61 rides upon ball bearings 62 which are su ported upon an annular' shelf 63 detachab mounted upon a partition 64. The drive ring 61 is rotated in any suitable manner as by providing gear teeth 65 thereon which mesh with a propriate driving ap- There is also provided an annular rece tacle 66 underlying the d of thebeam 60 and the gen'erator wall 3. In the present instance the receptacle 66 -is mounted upon the driving ring 61 and rotates therewith and an adjustable device is providedfor removing material from the trough at the desired rate, thus permittin any desired rate of removal to be maintaine As shown, an ash plow 67 projects down into the receptacle 66 and is made adjustable in position as b mounting the same upon the spin le 68 w ich is rovided 67' can be employed.

' carbonizaton, amounts char with an extra Operating handle 69 avin a pin 71 which may fit into any one of a seres of holes 7 2 in a sector plate 73. Thus, the ash plow 67 projects down into the receptacle 66 a distance de ending upon the setting of the handle 69 an -as the receptacle 66 rotates, material passing down intc it from the generator an ordinaril consisting of coke and ash is removed there rom at a corresponding rate and' further material is permitted to drop into the rece tacle'66 also at a corresponding rate. Any clesired number of such ash plows The temperatures, periods of'blowing and ged, and other factors, may vary widely with the t e of' a paratus used, the kind of coal carbonzed, t e quality or kind of coke produced, the requirements of gas manufacture or other conditiene. In generakhowever, when high temperature coke is the object to be attained, I

prefer to maintain a minimum temperature of about 1760 F., and when low temperature coke is the object, of about 1160 F., and I refer to keep the upper temperature limit oi my process below about 2500 F. The temperature will, to a great extent, determine the other factors, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. j

My invention. is not limited to the specific apparatus or method herein g'iven by way of example. V rious other means for introducing carbonac ous material into a fuel bed in such manner as to' bring the -introduced material into intimate contact with the incandescent portions of the fuel bed are feasible, although the devices of'the prior art have failed to show an ap reciation of the desirability of efl'ecting t is contact. Furthermore, myinvention will be accomplished with various forms of apparatus,'such as as roducers, carbon'izing chambers and e and is not lirited to the resent instance of a water-gas generator. y invention may be embbded an'd racticed within the scope of the claims herein after made.

- I claim as my invention:

1-. The process of coking coal which comprises bringing a bed of previously heated carbonaceous fuel to an incandescent state by blasting it with air, introducing coal directly to the central portion of the *incandescent fuel bed in such manner as to be subjected not only to the sensible heat of said fuel bed but also to be subjected to the weight of at leafa portion of said fuel bed, whereby said coal is carbonized, and removing from the fuel bed that portion of the coke thereby produced not required for combustion to mamtain the temperature of said fuel bed.

2. The process of coking coal, which comprises' bringing a bed of previously heated carbonaceous fuel to an incandescent state by `blasting it with air, introducing coal directl to the central portion of the incandescent fl el bed in such manner as to produce a substantiallyhorizontal layer of said coal in a central portion of. said fuel bed, whereby the coal is subjected to sensible heat and ressure of at least a portion of said fuel be and is carbonized, and removing from the bottom of'said fuel bed a portion of the coke thereby produced.

3. The process of coking coal which comprises bringirg a bed of previously heated carbonaceous uel toan incandescent 'state by blastingit with air, in 'alternate upward and downward blasting Operations, introducingcoal directly to the central portion of the inz -candescent -fuel bed in such manner as to be subjected not only to the sensible heat of said fuel bed but also to be su'bjected to the weight -of at leasta portion' of said fuel bed, whereby said coal s carbonized, and movin from the fuel bed a portion of thece ereby 'ke, v

produced and 'not consumed by subsequent air-blasting Operations to maintain the temperature of said fuel bed.

4. The process of coking c'oal which com prises bringing a bed of previously heated carbonaceous fuel to an incandescent state by blasting t with air, introducing coal directly i to the central portion of the incandescent fuel bed in such manner as to be subjected not only to the sensible heat of said fuel bed but also to be subj'ected to the weight of'at least a portion of said fuel bed, whereby' said coal is carbonized, passing steamthrough said fuel bed to generate water gas from a portion of the coke thereby produced and removing from said fuel bed that portion of the coke not con- 'sumed in said ar-blasting and steamng operations. In testimony whereof, I have .hereunto -subscribedemy name this 21st day of May, 1927.

FREDERICK W. SPERR, JR. 

